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By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor

(CNN) — Will religion factor into the first 2012 presidential debate in Denver on Wednesday night? Maybe, though it’s likely to happen in subtle ways.

Both President Barack Obama, a Protestant Christian whose political base is largely secular and whose last presidential campaign was almost brought low by his association with a minister, and Mitt Romney, whose Mormon religion is misunderstood or viewed skeptically by many Americans, have generally avoided talking religion on the campaign trail.